


bad day better

by helsinkibaby



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Fluff, request fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-08-09 16:58:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16453826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: Ellie is having a bad day.  Nick makes it better.





	bad day better

**Author's Note:**

> For a wish on the torresandbishop tumblr. _I’d love to see an Ellick moment where Ellie has bad cramps whilst in the office and after lunch Nick walks back in with a hot water bottle and some chocolate, hands it to her and just says “I grew up with a sister, I could tell, b”_
> 
> Written very quickly, apologies for any errors!

To say that Ellie was not having a good day would be to understate the matter quite a bit. For the last week, theyd been working non stop on a case, which meant paperwork had been piling up at a dizzying rate. With the case finally wrapping up the previous day, today was a day where everyone was playing catch up before Gibbs’s phone rang again. On top of that, she’d managed to sleep through her alarm that morning, something she never did, so she’d been running late and had skipped breakfast, something she also never did. Not even Nick’s emergency candy bar, neatly pilfered from his jacket hanging on the back of his chair had managed to make her feel better. 

Ordinarily, she’d be looking forward to lunch. Except today, she couldn’t face lunch because it was that time of the month and the worst set of cramps she’d endured in ages had completely wrecked her appetite. Even worse, she was completely out of painkillers. 

Gritting her teeth, she allowed herself a moment to dream about this hellish day being over. Being able to snuggle up on her couch underneath a blanket, hot water bottle on her stomach, a good book propped up on her knees. Or maybe just falling asleep on the couch like that. 

It was a nice dream. 

The elevator chiming had her looking up and she blinked at the unexpected sight of Tim returning alone. “Where’s Torres?” she asked and Tim shrugged. 

“He said he had an errand to run.” Holding up a takeaway bag from the coffee shop, he hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “I’m just going to drop this down to Jimmy. You got anything that needs to go down there?” 

Ellie cast her eye over the forest of paper on her desk. “Not right now. But thanks.” 

Tim nodded and headed off and he hadn’t been gone long when the elevator choked again. Figuring it was Nick coming back, Ellie didn’t look up, not until a large paper bag landed on her desk, smack in the middle of her paperwork. 

Looking up, she saw Nick standing there with an expression on his face she’d never seen before. The slightly satisfied smirk wasn’t anything new but there was something else there. Something that wasn’t embarrassment but not quite, something that looked almost like pleased caution. “Got you a present,” he told her and she frowned, poked at the plain brown bag like it was going to explode. Something of her thoughts must have shown in her face because he grinned as he dropped down to sit on the edge of her desk. It meant that the bag, and its contents, were hidden from view of anyone who might be walking by. He jerked his chin down, suddenly serious. “Go on... I promise, no snakes will jump out.” 

Slowly and carefully - Ellie had grown up with three brothers and some lessons were never forgotten - Ellie reached for the bag and pulled it open. What she saw there made her eyes grow wide and she looked back up at Nick, sure her surprise was stamped all over her face. Several types of candy bar - all of them her favourites - sat on top and, as she lifted them out, a jumbo size box of Midol peeked out. She felt herself beginning to blush - she’d kept her discomfort to herself all morning and she hadn’t realised anyone had noticed. “How did you know?” 

She kept her voice low and Nick grinned as he shrugged the shoulder closest to her. “I grew up with an older sister,” he reminded her. “Plus, you stole my emergency candy bar when you thought I wasn’t watching.” Ellie felt herself flush completely red at that and she looked down, pressed her lips together. Nick’s knee moved slightly so that it knocked against her elbow and when she looked up again to see a small smile turning up his lips, she knew it hadn’t been an accident. “Besides, I know you, B... I could tell you weren’t yourself.” 

If anyone asked, Ellie was totally going to blame hormones for how tight her throat suddenly was. “You didn’t have to-”

“What, and leave you suffering?” He said it like he was teasing and he was still smiling but his eyes were serious. He pointed to the bag again, waggled his finger up and down. “There’s one of those microwave bean bag heat pack things there too... I thought it might come in handy.” 

In a day where she was doing a few things she didn’t usually do, she did one more, opened her mouth and let the words come out without her thinking about them. “Oh my god, I could kiss you.” The words came out a little louder than she intended but when she looked around, no one was looking at them. “I mean-”

Nick chuckled, reached out and touched the back of her hand with his. “Save it for later.” He had never sounded so like Gibbs but the twitching of his lips, the twinkle in his eyes gave him away. It also sent Ellie’s thoughts racing in a direction they absolutely should not be going, not at work at any rate. So it was blessing when, pushing himself to a stand, Nick took a step towards his desk. “You want me to get you some water or-?”

“I’m good.” Ellie held up the bottle she’d been sipping from all morning. “Thanks, Nick... I owe you one.” 

“One candy bar? I should think so.” He might have been joking but she pulled one from the bag anyway, tossed it to him and grinned at him as he caught it easily. “Let me know if I can do anything else, ok?” 

Nodding, Ellie pulled open her desk drawer, emptying the contents of the bag into it. When she looked across at him again, his eyes were on her, steady and smiling. 

Ellie smiled back, her bad day suddenly not as bad anymore.


End file.
